Located on the sunny, dry, southern coast of Madeira, the apartment is situated in the fashionable district of Garajau, midway between the airport, and the capital, Funchal. Taxi journey time to both is just 12 minutes.
Garajau has long been known to be one of Madeira’s high class residential areas and is named after the black-headed sea birds, terns, which nest in the cliffs.
Garajau’s high street combines the Hotel Dom Pedro Garajau on one side of the road and a multitude of shops, bakeries, coffee shop, ice cream parlous and a few patisseries, and a medium sized well stocked mini-markets with ATM outside, several restaurants, bars and apartments on the other. Our apartment is not in this area. It is further down the village towards Caniço.
Just below the town is a 200m high headland with a fine miradouro- a statue of Christ with outstretched arms, similar to the larger statues in Rio de Janeiro or Lisbon. This is a wonderful spot to watch the sun go down and it has great views west to the Bay of Funchal. The coastline here at Garajau is also a conservation area, and was one of Europe’s first underwater nature reserves, providing sanctuary for whales, dolphins and seals.
Taxis will pick you up at the apartment, or a stroll away at the rank outside the Dom Pedro. Price to Funchal is approx Euro 11.00, or one may take a bus for about Euro 1.15 (less than 1 pound sterling), taking the old road into Funchal, a more interesting and exciting journey than the dual carriageway tunnels and highway recently constructed with EU money to speed up traffic.
As with development throughout Europe, there are still a few pockets of land with villas or small apartments being built into the side of the hilly terrain.
Ponta do Garajau is on the perimeter of the entry point to Funchal Bay, with its fine miradouro - a monumental statue of Christ erected in 1927. The statue stands with outstretched arms on a headland 200m above the sea, similar to the larger & more famous statues in Lisbon & Rio de Janeiro. It is has good views west to the Bay of Funchal, an ideal spot to watch the sun go down. The section of sea by Ponta do Garajau is a conservation area - "Reserva Natural Parcial do Garajau". It was one of Europe's first underwater nature reserves & is a marine sanctuary for whales, dolphins and seals.
The apartment is at the edge of the village - Villas do Quinta II Apartments. Beyond the apartments the road curves round the coastline to Caniço, the nearest large town
